It is not a plot from a science fiction. It’s a massive solar storm which is likely to hit earth today. As per experts, solar flare is an intense localized eruption of electromagnetic radiation in the Sun's atmosphere.
Though the earth will not be affected by the heat, it could possibly disrupt signal transmissions including satelites, mobile, GPS and others.
Earlier, a physicist named Dr Tamitha Skov had posted an alert regarding the potential solar storm on social media. “Direct Hit! A snake-like filament launched as a big #solarstorm while in the Earth-strike zone. NASA predicts impact early July 19. Strong #aurora shows possible with this one, deep into mid-latitudes. Amateur #radio & #GPS users expect signal disruptions on Earth's nightside,” the physicist had tweeted.
“The magnetic orientation of this Earth-directed #solarstorm is going to be tough to predict. G2-level (possibly G3) conditions may occur if the magnetic field of this storm is oriented southward,” the physicist added.
As per NASA, a solar flare is an intense burst of radiation coming from the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots. Flares are our solar system’s largest explosive events. They are seen as bright areas on the sun and they can last from minutes to hours. We typically see a solar flare by the photons (or light) it releases, at most every wavelength of the spectrum.
Dr Subhendu Pattnaik, deputy director of Pathani Samanta Planetarium in Bhubaneswar on Tuesday said, “It is a regular phenomenon and sometimes its intensity is high. Sometimes it moves towards earth and react with earth’s electromagnetic field.”
According to Pattnaik, the solar fare was formed some three days back and as it is a B-category storm it may affect communication and power sector for some time.